This application claims priority of Japanese Application No. 2000-326632, filed Oct. 26, 2000 and Japanese Application No. 2000-333669, filed Oct. 31, 2000 the complete disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
a) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a hot-stamping foil tape cassette for peeling a hot-stamping foil tape from a value-added medium after hot-stamping transfer to the value-added medium, and a foil-peeling mechanism in a hot-stamping device and a peeling method for the hot-stamping foil.
Further, this invention relates to a hot-stamping foil tape cassette to enable simple and, moreover, appropriate control of a hot-stamping foil such as a holographic foil and the like, and a control method for a hot-stamping foil tape cassette.
b) Description of the Related Art
In a hot-stamping process to transfer holographic foil to a value-added medium, especially to official documents and the like that have special added value as a value-added medium, in order to fuse holographic foil (a vapor-deposited layer such as aluminum, etc.) to the medium after hot-stamping, a carrier film supporting vapor deposited layer is also fused to the medium. In a conventional hot-stamping device, this carrier film is peeled from the medium according to the following methods to complete the hot-stamping process.
In a first method, a carrier film is pulled up to create a greater than specified peeling angle between the carrier film and medium, the carrier film is peeled. Further, in a second method, the carrier film is rolled up to create greater than a specified peeling angle between the carrier film and medium, the carrier film is peeled during this time by a conveying medium as well. Further, in a third method, as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent (Kokai) Hei 7-304157, a lever part is inserted between the medium and the carrier film, the carrier film is peeled from the medium by moving a lever part in a region of fusion.
Further, heretofore, a hot-stamping foil, for example, holographic foil, was added by means of hot-stamping device to a value-added medium such as a ticket, a document, a credit card, with the intention of preventing forgery of a value-added medium and proffering brand protection.
Holographic foil may have original designs and patterns created according to individual requests from each customer. Further, a usage fee (a royalty) for holographic foil is usually proportional to the number of sheets of holographic foil used. For example, when a sales group hands over holographic foil tape containing holographic foil for a fixed number of sheets to the customer, compensation commensurate with this fixed number of sheets is received from this customer.
Further, because holographic foil is important as a proof of the medium being of value, it is necessary to protect holographic foil itself from wrongdoing such as theft and forgery, by implementing control, for example, by a designated controller for storage under stringent conditions in a designated location.
Nonetheless, in a method for peeling carrier film from a medium in a conventional hot-stamping device, the following problems occur, especially when a medium that is a hot-stamping object comprises documents such as brochures.
First, in the first method, there are situations where documents are pulled up together with film when a carrier film is pulled up, so that problems occur such as unsatisfactory peeling and damage to documents. For this reason, application of this method is limited to a group of documents where there are no problems when tension is imparted, usually continuous-feed paper.
Further, in the second method, there are situations where one part of a document, such as a cover sheet only, is conveyed, problems occur such as unsatisfactory peeling and damage to documents. Furthermore, there is no need to construct a drive section for conveying documents; this, however, is linked to an increase in the cost of a hot-stamping device.
Further, in the third method, because there is a need to move a lever part throughout the region of fusion, there is a need to ensure space so that there is no interference in the range of movement. Accordingly, a problem is presented of scaling up the entire hot-stamping device, which is linked to an increase in the cost of the hot-stamping device.
Furthermore, in a conventional hot-stamping device where said first to third methods are applicable, a holographic foil is installed as an open reel system, and space for realizing said first to third methods can be ensured, but there is the problem of scaling up the entire device. Further, in a hot-stamping device with structure having such arrangement, because there is need to set holographic foil by, as it were, stitching the various structural parts together, there is the problem that exchange of holographic foil can only be done by skilled persons or professional service providers.
Furthermore, the following problems occur in the control of conventional hot-stamping foil, for example, holographic foil.
First, the control of sheet usage count for holographic foil is not accurate. Holographic foil tape does not necessarily contain a fixed number of holographic foil, actually, in many cases, sheet count is greater than the number of sheets proffered, and extras are provided. For this reason, it is not possible to recover an appropriate royalty corresponding to the number of sheets issued of the value-added medium, in other words, sheet usage count of holographic foil. Further, in the case of holographic foil of continuous design where there are no identification marks to determine location, because of a variation in the roll-up spacing of holographic foil, the number of stampable sheets from a roll of tape varies to the end; this is unfair and inequitable.
Second, as a countermeasure to wrongdoing such as theft and forgery of the holographic foil itself, it is dependent in many cases on the controller of the holographic oil or the user of hot-stamping device. This requires expenditure of manpower and, further, it is difficult to constantly maintain control quality under actual conditions.
Third, when special holographic foil is used, created according to individual request from the customer, there is a need every time the holographic foil is exchanged, to change the setup of the hot-stamping device to optimal stamping conditions (for example, optimal temperature, optimal pressure application, optimal time, etc.), according to the kind of holographic foil or according to directions from the manufacturer of holographic foil; this is complicated.
Therefore, this invention has as a primary object providing hot-stamping foil tape cassette that enables satisfactory peeling of hot-stamping foil with no damage to the value-added medium and, moreover, provides easy exchange operations for holographic foil and the foil-peeling mechanism in a hot-stamping device and a peeling method for a hot-stamping foil.
Further, this invention has as a further object, providing a hot-stamping foil tape cassette and a control method for hot-stamping foil tape cassette wherein control of the hot-stamping foil can be performed simply and, moreover, appropriately, such as control of sheet count of hot-stamping foil, prevention of wrongdoing such as forgery to hot-stamping foil, and determination of optimal stamping conditions according to hot-stamping foil.
In order to achieve such objects in accordance with the invention, in a hot-stamping foil tape cassette, a hot-stamping foil tape is transferred by pressure application together with a value-added medium to the value-added medium, and a windup reel for winding up a hot-stamping foil tape, and a reel on which hot-stamping foil tape is wound, is stored therein. The cassette case has a shutter that, except at the time of hot-stamping transfer, is in a protective position that protects hot-stamping foil tape. On the other hand, at the time of hot-stamping transfer the shutter withdraws to a withdrawal position that does not interfere with action of said hot-stamping transfer. After hot-stamping, by means of the shutter, hot-stamping foil tape can be peeled from the value-added medium.
Therefore, except at the time of hot-stamping transfer, the hot-stamping foil is protected by a shutter from physical damage such as dirt, heat, cuts and scratches, etc. On the other hand, when the shutter is opened at the time of hot-stamping and the shutter is closed again after hot-stamping, the shutter is inserted between the hot-stamping foil tape and the value-added medium to enable peeling of hot-stamping foil tape from the value-added medium.
Further, in accordance with the invention, a foil-peeling mechanism of a hot-stamping device is provided with a hot-stamping foil tape cassette as described above, and a cassette movement mechanism that makes a hot-stamping foil tape cassette come in contact with a value-added medium at the time of hot-stamping and together with this, after hot-stamping, withdraws the hot-stamping foil tape cassette from the value-added medium, at the time of hot-stamping, the shutter in the hot-stamping foil tape cassette opens; on the other hand, after hot-stamping, the shutter is closed in conjunction with withdrawal of a hot-stamping foil tape cassette from the value-added medium to peel the hot-stamping foil tape from the value-added medium.
Consequently, as the hot-stamping foil tape cassette is being withdrawn from the value-added medium to pull up the hot-stamping foil tape from the value-added medium, the shutter is being inserted between the hot-stamping foil tape and the value-added medium. In this mode, the hot-stamping foil tape can be peeled from the value-added medium consistently and, moreover, in satisfactory fashion.
Further, in accordance with the invention, in a foil-peeling mechanism in a hot-stamping device, the cassette movement mechanism has a connection part connecting to the shutter, the shutter is opened and closed by action of cassette movement mechanism. Consequently, cassette action of withdrawing from the value-added medium and closing the shutter can be linked so that as the hot-stamping foil tape is being pulled up from the value-added medium, the shutter is being inserted between the hot-stamping foil tape and the value-added medium.
Further, in a peeling method for the hot-stamping foil described in accordance with the invention, the hot-stamping foil tape cassette described above is used; at the time of hot-stamping, the hot-stamping foil tape cassette is made to come in contact with the value-added medium and, moreover, the shutter in the hot-stamping foil tape cassette is opened, after hot-stamping, as the hot-stamping foil tape cassette is being withdrawn from the value-added medium, the shutter is closed to peel hot-stamping foil tape from the value-added medium.
Therefore, except at the time of hot-stamping transfer, the hot-stamping foil is protected by the shutter from physical damage such as dirt, heat, cuts and scratches, etc. On the other hand, when the shutter is opened at the time of hot-stamping and the shutter is closed again after hot-stamping, as the hot-stamping foil tape is being pulled up from the value-added medium, the shutter is inserted between the hot-stamping foil tape and the value-added medium; in this mode, the hot-stamping foil tape can be peeled from the value-added medium consistently and, moreover, in satisfactory fashion.
In order to achieve such objectives, in accordance with the invention, in a hot-stamping foil tape cassette that has stored in a cassette case, a hot-stamping foil tape transferred by pressure application together with the value-added medium to the value-added medium, is provided with a non-contacting tag that records control information.
Consequently, by confirming the presence of a non-contacting tag and its validity, use of a fraudulent hot-stamping foil tape cassette that does not have a non-contacting tag or has an unqualified non-contacting tag can be eliminated. Further, information relevant to control of sheet count of a hot-stamping foil and optimal stamping conditions corresponding to a hot-stamping foil, etc. can be recorded on a non-contacting tag. By utilizing this control information, control of sheet count of the hot-stamping foil and control of a setup of optimal stamping conditions corresponding to a hot-stamping foil, etc. can be performed simply and, moreover, appropriately, without depending on human input.
Further, in a control method for hot-stamping foil tape cassette in accordance with the invention, a non-contacting tag that records control information is provided in a hot-stamping foil tape cassette that has stored therein a hot-stamping foil tape that is transferred by a pressure application together with a value-added medium to said value-added medium; a hot-stamping device where hot-stamping foil tape cassette is set is provided with communication function for communicating with non-contacting tag so that the hot-stamping device can identify the hot-stamping foil tape cassette on the basis of control information.
Consequently, when the hot-stamping device provided with a communication function communicates with a non-contacting tag, the presence and validity of the non-contacting tag is confirmed and use of a hot-stamping device by a fraudulent hot-stamping foil tape cassette that does not have the non-contacting tag or has a unqualified non-contacting tag can be prevented. Further, the hot-stamping device can identify a hot-stamping foil tape cassette that was set, on the basis of control information recorded on the non-contacting tag, and can effect precise processing, according to the kind and status of this cassette.
Further, in accordance with the invention, in a control method for a hot-stamping foil tape cassette described above, control information is included by an approved number of a stamping cycle, refreshed by subtracting xe2x80x9c1xe2x80x9d each time hot-stamping is implemented; when an approved stamping cycle number is xe2x80x9c0xe2x80x9d, the hot-stamping device does not implement hot-stamping.
Consequently, when the approved stamping cycle number becomes xe2x80x9c0xe2x80x9d, stamping is not implemented when the predetermined number of stamping cycle is exceeded, and even if there is a leftover hot-stamping foil tape, precise control of sheet usage count of hot-stamping foil is implemented.
Further, in accordance with the invention, in a control method for the hot-stamping foil tape cassette described above, control information is included on the stamping condition information, so that hot-stamping device implements hot-stamping according to stamping condition information.
Consequently, even when optimal stamping conditions vary with the kind of hot-stamping foil tape, etc., the hot-stamping device provides optimal control on the basis of the stamping condition information, so there is no need for the user to do reset, stamping can be performed under optimal conditions on a hot-stamping foil tape in general use.
Still further, in accordance with the invention, a control method for a hot-stamping foil tape cassette a tape ID code in control information is included and a hot-stamping device has a recording medium for registering a tape ID code of a processible hot-stamping foil tape as an approved ID code. In this method, hot-stamping is not implemented when the tape ID code is not included in the approved ID code. Therefore, customized hot-stamping foil tape for a special customer can be used only by a special customer that has a hot-stamping device in which this hot-stamping foil tape ID code is registered, therefore, security of a customized hot-stamping foil can be increased.
In a further aspect of the invention, in a control method for a hot-stamping foil tape cassette described above, a user code and password are registered in a recording medium, and hot stamping can be implemented after the user code and password are confirmed. Consequently, fraudulent hot-stamping usage by non-authorized persons can be prevented.
Finally, in accordance with the invention, in a control method for a hot-stamping foil tape cassette described above, the recording medium is a second non-contacting tag that is able to communicate with a communication function of the hot-stamping device. Consequently, if a second non-contacting tag is moved to another hot-stamping device, this device can be utilized under identical conditions without repeating the setup. Further, the communication function of the hot-stamping device is shared with a non-contacting tag provided on hot-stamping tape cassette and the second non-contacting tag.